11 replies to this topic

[Bulldarter]

I finally got around to visiting this spring fed creek out in Winchester with Todd! It was a quick trip, but extremely successful! In addition to the gorgeous pair of adult rainbow darters he so generously gave me from his own personal tank, we found two juvenile rainbows to round out the quartet. A huge and gorgeous male greenside darter and a smaller female to accompany him were awesome finds, as well as a nice fat stoneroller. We found several sculpins, which I believe Todd said were Blue Ridge sculpins? I did not bring any home for fear of losing some of my smaller friends to a larger mouth. Sadly I only took pictures once everything was acclimated and in the tank, so those are soon to follow.

[MtFallsTodd]

Really fun time. Glad the weather gives us a break long enough to do some collecting. I think the sculpins were probably mottled, awesome little fish. Worth setting up a small tank just for them. Very much enjoyed meeting you and your dad. Can't wait to see your pictures.

[mattknepley]

Sculpins and darters always make for a good day in the water as far as I'm concerned! Glad you could get out there.

[Bulldarter]

 

Sorry for the quality of the first pics, they're not great. 

[Bulldarter]

[Bulldarter]

[Bulldarter]

Ok they are in this order:

1. Male greenside, tiny rainbow, female rainbow behind branch

2.Backnose dace, stoneroller, blurry female greenside, tail of adult male rainbow

3.Adult male rainbow, stoneroller

4.Adult male rainbow, female greenside and stoneroller in background

5.Blacknose dace in front, then male greenside, then female greenside, adult female rainbow on far left, young rainbow on far right

6.Adult male rainbow

7.Adult male rainbow, young rainbow tail on right, blurry female rainbow on left

[Bulldarter]

I have one question, when will the stoneroller start eating, and what will entice him to eat sooner rather than later? He seemed somewhat interested when I fed the dace flakes and they got excited.

[Matt DeLaVega]

Nice seeing NANFA members meeting up with others like this. Good job guys, looks like you had some fun and found some nice fish.

 

Some bloodworms, which you will want for the darters anyway will keep the stoneroller going until he catches on to flakes. Otherwise hunger itself and watching the dace should bring it around pretty quick. I have never seen a stoneroller that did not adapt quickly to aquarium life, and flake food as well. If you have any algae on any tank surfaces, he is probably taking advantage of it. I would not worry about it.

[Matt DeLaVega]

Watch the greenside the most. Not quite as competitive for food. Pond snails will really help to keep them in good shape, and it is fun to watch.

[MtFallsTodd]

Alright Cole!!! Glad to see everything has settled in. Like Matt said, the stoneroller will adapt pretty quickly and eat just about everything. Frozen bloodworms and live blackworms will keep everything else happy. Looking forward to the next trip, mid June looks like a good time to see what else we can find.

[Bulldarter]

The stoneroller started munching some bring shrimp today so yay! The female greenside is already very competitive for bloodworms, even swimming up into the water column to battle the bnd. The male is still only eating snails, but I am sure he will catch on eventually.